Tag Archives: Self

Well it has been a while since I’ve posted last. Quite a few things have changed since then. Back in November I was laid off from URS to do budget cuts in Government Contracts and due to the company not winning any new contracts for the new year. Loosing my job sucked but after five years of employment I was grateful that I would be receiving a severance package. That was going to be extremely helpful going in to the month of December and with Christmas coming around the corner.

The job search began before I was let go and it wasn’t going very well. It wasn’t until the week before Thanksgiving that I started interviewing for a position with Regent University. I was super stoked about landing interviews with Regent. I received my BA from Regent in ’09 and since then I’ve always wanted to work there. My true dream is to go back as a teacher within the Animation Program. Well about two weeks went buy before I heard the awesome news. I was offered a job as an eLearning and Instructional Design Specialist for the College of Arts and Sciences. I started at the beginning of the year and since then the job has been nothing less than awesome.

The people here are fantastic, the campus is beautiful and the work is extremely rewarding. I’ve worked on a number of projects since starting here. The most rewarding one has been the work I’ve done for Regent’s MOOC “LUXVERA.” LUXVERA is really turning into something fantastic and it’s only going to get better from here. That’s not the only thing that has been rewarding. I’ve been working hand in hand with my boss developing a new course style for a History 101 class. I can’t go into details but everything we’ve done and the things that I have brought to the table are really shaping this course into something pretty cool. Testing the waters with it begins in about two weeks and if everything goes right the course will go live in the fall. Keep those fingers crossed!

On to a different topic… School is still going strong. The semester is 20days from being finished and I’m stressing like I’ve never stressed before. Reason for the extra levels of stress is because this semester I have to pitch my thesis idea, or what AAU calls “Mid Point Review.” What I have to do is come up with a VFX idea where I will showcase my skills that I’ve learned over the semester here. The idea doesn’t have to be original but you do have to produce something that can be finished. I can have help from other students and non-students. The goal is that I produce 3-6 shots of VFX awesomeness. The reason for the review is so you can pitch your idea, or in my case, my idea to a panel of Professors. I have to show my concept, artwork, storyboards, previz, test shots, etc once done they will review the work and discuss if I may proceed. What I mean by that is, if they say yes, I am able to move forward on my thesis as well as take my remaining classes. If they say “NO” then I have to go back to the drawing board and then re-present.

The whole process is extremely stressful. To help relieve some stress and show off my progress I’ve started another blog, nathansthesis.wordpress.com. Check it out when you can.

The last bit of news that I have to share is that I’m in the process of buying a new house. We’ve been looking and have made a few offers but nothing has paned out yet. I’ll keep you posted.